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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. staff — employees
  3. stem — to come from
  4. cold — an illness
  5. file — a line of people
  6. staff — employees
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. file — a document
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. staff — a stick
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bark — to shout
  20. file — a tool
  21. last — final
  22. row — to paddle
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. row — a line

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com